- AT&T veteran JR Wilson is now running AST SpaceMobile’s Network & Spectrum biz
- Wilson spent more than two decades at AT&T before jumping ship
- The Wireless Broadband Alliance paid tribute to his many years serving as chair – when much progress was made in Wi-Fi/cellular convergence
It looks like long-time AT&T executive JR Wilson is getting back to his roots in the satellite sector.
Wilson, who worked in various capacities at AT&T for more than two decades, is now chief of Networks and Spectrum at AST SpaceMobile. This, after many years in terrestrial wireless positions at AT&T, most recently as VP of Towers, Roaming and In-Building commercial strategy.
The move – a coup for AST SpaceMobile – isn’t surprising given some of the interviews Wilson has given about the promising technology that AST SpaceMobile is developing. Last year, speculation ran high that then newly departed AT&T exec Chris Sambar was going to take a position at AST SpaceMobile, but he landed as COO at self-storage company Public Storage.
AT&T was an early partner with AST SpaceMobile and agreed in 2023 to lease 850 MHz terrestrial cellular spectrum to AST for emerging direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services, i.e., providing satellite coverage to unmodified smartphones. Verizon followed suit with a $100 million investment and 850 MHz spectrum lease of its own.
Since then, the D2D space has gotten even hotter, even though it hasn’t yet proven to be a monetary boon for carriers. AST SpaceMobile, in particular, is getting beaucoup interest from some Wall Street satellite industry analysts and retail investors. Its followers, referred to as the “SpaceMob,” are wildly devoted to AST SpaceMobile’s strategy.
Wilson's history with WBA
Back to Wilson. For more than a decade, he was chairman of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), an organization that successfully led the OpenRoaming initiative to make Wi-Fi roaming as seamless as cellular roaming – no passwords required.
In a July 31 press release announcing Wilson’s departure, WBA CEO Tiago Rodrigues ticked off a number of accomplishments during Wilson’s tenure, including the global adoption of Wi-Fi and cellular convergence, the migration of WBA’s legal entity to the United States and the launch of World Wi-Fi Day and OpenRoaming.
Wilson wasn’t immediately available for comment. But in a statement as part of the WBA announcement, he said it was one of the greatest privileges of his professional life to help guide WBA through an extraordinary period of growth.
“Together, we have ensured the long-term sustainability of the organization and cemented its relevance within the wireless ecosystem – making a lasting mark on the global convergence agenda between wireless technologies and establishing WBA as a reference point for the entire industry,” he said. “Today, WBA stands as a unique and globally respected industry voice – and I could not be prouder of what we have accomplished.”
Wilson is no stranger to the satellite industry, having worked back in the day at the Craig McCaw/Microsoft-funded Teledesic venture, founded in the 1990s, whose mission was to provide broadband from space. That didn’t work out, despite long days and nights at the office. But Wilson acknowledged on LinkedIn that they were ahead of their time.
Who knows? Maybe this time, the time is right.